HUAWEI Pura X: Wide-Format Design Breaks Foldable Boundaries

Bora X: Challenging Standards and Redefining Foldable Devices

Home » Design » Bora X: Challenging Standards and Redefining Foldable Devices

The Evolution of Foldable Devices: A New Design Philosophy

Foldable devices have evolved from traditional clamshell designs to tablet-like formats. However, the introduction of Huawei’s Bora X marks a departure from these conventional paths, presenting a completely new design philosophy. This innovative approach challenges the traditional boundaries and redefines how we engage with portable technology.

The Bora X stands out due to its wide-form design, offering a unique balance between proportions and materials. This shift is not only visually appealing but also enhances the user experience by promoting better interaction. The design’s visual harmony is both captivating and practical, making the device comfortable to use and highly efficient.

Bora X Design: Redefining Dimensions and Content Interaction

At first glance, the Bora X presents a design crafted through careful consideration. When unfolded, its dimensions of 143.2 × 91.7 × 7.15 mm create a wider aspect ratio, moving away from the typical elongated rectangular shape found in most devices today.

The 16:10 ratio is not merely a design choice; it results from extensive research into how users engage with content. This aspect ratio was specifically selected to enhance the user experience across a variety of tasks, such as reading, watching videos, and boosting productivity.

Bora X Engineering: Folded Form and Material Innovation

Structural Design When Folded

When folded, the Bora X transforms into a nearly square shape, with dimensions of 91.7 × 74.3 × 15.1 mm, fitting naturally in the hand for enhanced comfort. This geometric transition underscores Huawei’s industrial design expertise, achieving an ideal balance between form and function.

Huawei has incorporated the Xuanwu waterdrop hinge, crafted from aerospace-grade materials with a tensile strength of 1900 MPa. This advanced hinge enables smooth folding while maintaining structural integrity. The device closes with minimal gaps, seamlessly integrating flexible display technology for improved durability and long-term resilience.

Weight Distribution and Material Selection

Weight distribution in the Bora X has been carefully optimized. With the eco-leather version weighing 193.7g and the glass edition at 195.9g, the device remains remarkably lightweight without compromising durability. These features place it among the ultra-light foldable devices, a notable achievement considering its complex internal components and large battery capacity.

Material Craftsmanship: A Design Story Through Finishes

The Bora X’s material selection embodies a sophisticated design philosophy, reflected in five distinct finishes. The Embossed Red and Embossed Green variants feature precision-textured eco-leather, with engravings as fine as 0.05mm, offering a refined tactile experience. This texture is not merely decorative—it also improves grip for practical usability.

The leather variants cater to those who appreciate the material’s organic warmth, which evolves into a rich patina over time. This transformation adds character, increasing the device’s appeal with continued use.

Material Design and Light Interaction

For those seeking a modern, minimalist aesthetic, the Bora X is available in Moon Shadow Gray, Zero White, and Fantasy Night Black. These variants feature transparent glass with unique reflective properties that interact with light, creating a dynamic visual depth throughout the day. The advanced nano-engraved glass surface minimizes fingerprints while maintaining the material’s natural sheen, adding an elegant touch to the overall design.

Huawei’s material choices reflect an understanding that smartphones are more than just tools—they are personal accessories that express individual style. Instead of following temporary color trends, the Bora X embraces a timeless palette, ensuring seamless integration into diverse lifestyles and environments.

Display Architecture – Advancing Foldable Technology

The Bora X display marks a significant step forward in the evolution of foldable devices. Its 6.3-inch flexible LTPO2 OLED inner screen offers a resolution of 2120 × 1320 (~396 PPI), ensuring outstanding visual clarity. With a remarkable 87.5% screen-to-body ratio, the device provides an expansive yet balanced visual experience, enhancing usability for tasks like reading, media consumption, and daily use.

Display Technology and Color Accuracy

The Bora X features an LTPO2 OLED panel supporting 1 billion colors and DCI-P3 wide color gamut coverage, ensuring precise and accurate color reproduction. This makes it an ideal choice for creative professionals who need flawless color accuracy in their work.

Smart Adaptive Refresh Rate

Equipped with an adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate, the display adjusts intelligently based on the content. This technology optimizes battery life by lowering the refresh rate for static content and delivering smooth performance for dynamic interactions, striking the ideal balance between performance and power efficiency.

High-Frequency Dimming Technology & User Comfort

The Bora X integrates 1440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, a carefully designed feature aimed at reducing eye strain during prolonged use. This advanced dimming technology minimizes screen flicker, which can lead to visual fatigue, offering enhanced comfort for extended screen time.

Brightness Performance in Various Lighting Conditions

With a peak brightness of 2500 nits, the display ensures excellent visibility in any lighting condition. Whether you’re using the device in direct sunlight or a dim environment, the screen remains clear and gentle on the eyes, improving the overall user experience across different settings.

External Display – Compact Yet Powerful

The Bora X boasts a 3.5-inch external display with a 980 × 980 resolution, featuring a 1:1 aspect ratio that offers a balanced and visually appealing experience when folded. This thoughtful design enhances portability and usability without sacrificing functionality.

This external display shares the same high-end specifications as the main screen, including adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate, 2500-nit peak brightness, and HDR Vivid support. These features ensure a consistent and seamless visual experience, whether interacting with the main or external screen.

Functional Aesthetics

The Camera Module Design: Aesthetic and Functional Harmony

The camera system of the Bora X is designed to offer a distinctive, easily recognizable look while aligning seamlessly with the device’s edges for a clean geometric appearance.

The quad-camera system of the Bora X includes: • 50 MP main camera with f/1.6 aperture, RYYB sensor, and optical image stabilization (OIS). • 40 MP ultra-wide camera with f/2.2 aperture, RYYB sensor, and macro capabilities. • 8 MP telephoto camera with f/2.4 aperture, OIS, and 3.5x optical zoom. • 1.5 MP multi-spectrum color sensor.

This balanced setup provides exceptional photography capabilities, making the Bora X an excellent choice for users who demand top-tier imaging performance.

The camera housing reflects meticulous attention to both aesthetic and functional details. Its gradual elevation replaces sharp edges, allowing natural light transitions across the rear panel. This design reduces the visual weight of the camera bump while maintaining a cohesive and sleek look.

This engineering refinement improves the visual integration of the device, striking the perfect balance between aesthetics and practical functionality.

The Side Fingerprint Sensor: A Seamless and Comfortable Design

The side fingerprint sensor on the Bora X reflects a thoughtful and ergonomic design. It is seamlessly integrated into the frame, providing a natural thumb rest. This positioning ensures easy and continuous access, whether the device is folded or open. It showcases intelligent engineering, demonstrating a deep understanding of daily usage patterns.

Internal Engineering

In terms of internal engineering, the Bora X reveals meticulous design thinking. It features a dual battery configuration with a capacity of 4720mAh, efficiently distributing power sources to maintain balanced weight and optimal thermal management. This configuration supports 66W wired fast charging, 40W wireless fast charging, and bi-directional charging capabilities (7.5W wireless, 5W wired). Despite these high-performance features, the slim design of the device remains intact, highlighting the balance between performance and design.

Thermal Engineering

The Bora X’s thermal engineering displays advanced three-dimensional thinking. A high thermal conductivity graphite plate (2000W/m·K) efficiently dissipates heat across the device’s internal volume. This system ensures comfortable external temperatures during demanding tasks and helps preserve the battery lifespan through continuous thermal regulation.

Internal Component Layout

The internal components of the Bora X are meticulously arranged to provide comprehensive connectivity options without compromising structural integrity. These include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, USB Type-C 3.1 with DisplayPort capabilities, and an infrared port. Despite space constraints, these components are integrated into a compact structure. Some models also feature satellite communication devices, a significant engineering achievement.

Accessories as an Extension of the Design

Huawei enhances the Bora X design language with three custom accessories. The 3D manual protective case adds practical functionality while maintaining the device’s visual identity. The simple leather case features an ergonomic design that enhances tactile experience and complements the phone’s materials. Meanwhile, the ultra-thin simple leather protective case reduces excess size while offering essential protection for the device.

Each accessory is developed as a thoughtful extension of the main product, not as an afterthought. These accessories reflect the material properties and design language of the Bora X, ensuring seamless integration. This attention to detail enhances the overall user experience, as each accessory offers both functional and aesthetic benefits that harmonize with the device’s original design.

Design in Service of Experience

The design philosophy of the “Bora X” device enhances the user experience in tangible and effective ways. The wide-shaped screen creates natural reading environments with eye-friendly text columns, making it easier to interact with texts for extended periods. Additionally, visual content benefits from the cinematic frame, which reduces the impact of black borders, providing a smoother and more enjoyable viewing experience.
Moreover, productivity apps find in this design a usable screen space, enabling the execution of complex tasks more efficiently, making work on the device more flexible and effective.

External Display Transitions and HarmonyOS System

The external display of the “Bora X” device is an example of thoughtful design that enhances quick interactions through its square ratios. These ratios provide sufficient space for meaningful interaction with content without the need to open the device, reducing strain on the folding mechanism and simplifying common tasks.
As for the visual design, HarmonyOS 5.0.1 aligns with the devices through consistent geometric principles and harmonious spatial relationships. Furthermore, the breathing visual effects of the Xiaoyi voice assistant reflect the growing importance of animation as a core design element. The system’s intelligent capabilities, such as eye-tracking navigation and smart content storage, highlight how software and hardware can seamlessly integrate to create a smooth and advanced user experience.

“Bora X” – A Challenge to Conventional Concepts in Foldable Device Design

The “Bora X” device represents a remarkable design achievement in the foldable device category, as it aims to challenge established standards and offer true innovation in its design. By exploring ratios, interactive tools, and the use of alternative materials, Huawei has succeeded in creating a device that introduces new possibilities for how we interact with portable technology.
While it is still early to determine whether this design trend will gain widespread popularity among consumers, the thoughtful execution and clear vision behind the device deserve recognition from the design community.

🔗 Read also:

You Might Also Like

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *